Tech Wildcatters Pitch Day (From a Unique Perspective)

In a classic scene from Duck Soup, Groucho Marx (as Rufus T. Firefly) is given a report, and he responds, "Why a four-year-old child could understand this report. Run out and find me a four-year-old child. I can't make head or tail out of it." That deadpan line may have come from a movie that was released in 1933, but it alludes to an idea that's relevant to this day: Younger generations have a unique perspective, and their insights can be extremely valuable. James, my nine-year-old son, has a seemingly innate understanding of technology, and after watching TechStars Cloud graduates deliver their demo day pitches last year, he became very interested in startups. I can say this authoritatively because he's been bugging me for month to let him go to another session.

With his school year winding down, I decided I'd make a deal with him: He could join me at the Tech Wildcatters Pitch Day, but he'd have to write a blog about what he learned about each of the companies. When I saw the post he wrote, I realized that having a nine-year-old listen to elevator pitches from startups provides a great barometer for how well a presenter expressed the company's value proposition. I'll turn the floor over to James and let him share what he learned about the eleven companies that presented at #TWPitchDay2013:

Today I went to the Granada Theater in Dallas with my dad to meet start up companies. They were doing presentations to investors to raise money.

My dad did the introduction for HedgeChatter. I really did not understand what the do, but my dad said they did "DID": They turn Data into Information so people can make better Decisions. Not sure what that really means but he seems to like their business.

Here is a quick summary of each of the companies and what they do:

Voncierge — Voncierge.com — @LittleDressBook
Voncierge is a virtual wedding website that lets brides find the time and day for appointments in a short time.

GroupRaise — GroupRaise.com — @GroupRaise
GroupRaise is a platform for charitable organizers to set up fundraisers online at local restaurants.

ScribeSense — ScribeSense.com — @ScribeSense
ScribeSense is a better way to track and improve student learning. Their online platform grades.

CrowdFeed — CrowdFeed.co — @CrowdFeed
CrowdFeed is an app that has a huge market, making music and merchandise available on the spot.

SmokePhone — SmokePhone.com — @SmokePhone
Smokephone is a site that lets you save your ten precious digits from strangers, and then you can delete them at any time.

HedgeChatter — HedgeChatter.com — @HedgeChatter
HedgeChatter is a social analytics tool for the stock market. It helps investors make more money in less time (from 12 hours to 6).

SocialGlimpz — SocialGlimpz.com — @SocialGlimpz
SocialGlimpz is a market insight tool to glean insights from users and build consumer strategy. It is an alternative to slow, expensive tools in the market.

501Fund — 501Fund.com — @501Fund
501Fund is a company that helps with fundraising and saving money.

Secure PressID — SecurePressID.com — @SecurePressID
SecurepressID is a security company that lets your hand be the username and login to protect from hackers.

My favorite of all companies was GroupRaise. I like it because I like helping people, and that is what they do too! Klick Push was great too. They give you prizes like free music for getting to new levels in games. Maybe they can do that for Minecraft.

This is the second time I went to an event like this. Last year I met a lot of cool companies that came to Dallas from San Antonio. My dad said they were part of something called TechStars Cloud. I even presented to them about Steve Jobs. That made me nervous, but it was worth it.

I am already excited about going to my next demo day. And maybe someday I will be on the stage with a new idea.

Awesome James! So glad you were there to check this out, hope you can be around in November when Health Wildcatters has their pitches. Looking forward to hearing your perspective on the big changes happening in healthcare and how all these companies can help people!

Thanks for the read, James. I think we can all learn from the perspective of different age range. I just pitched at the TechCrunch event in Austin this past Thursday and my biggest lesson I learned was keeping the pitch so simple that any outsider would get it. Best of luck to you James as you figure out what future idea you'll pitch one day!

Awesome James! So glad you were there to check this out, hope you can be around in November when Health Wildcatters has their pitches. Looking forward to hearing your perspective on the big changes happening in healthcare and how all these companies can help people!

Thanks for the read, James. I think we can all learn from the perspective of different age range. I just pitched at the TechCrunch event in Austin this past Thursday and my biggest lesson I learned was keeping the pitch so simple that any outsider would get it. Best of luck to you James as you figure out what future idea you'll pitch one day!